I have two dental implants with crowns on them. Between those two teeth is a natural tooth that, up until now, was completely healthy. Now my dentist is hinting that we may not be able to save this. Is it possible to put a Maryland Bridge between the two implants and bond the bridge to the two implant crowns?
Benedict
Dear Benedict,
While technically you could attach a Maryland Bridge to the two adjacent dental crowns, it will be risky. You would need a dentist who is skilled in the special requirements in placing a Maryland Bridge. Unfortunately, most dentists just think all you need to do is grind a bit of the tooth in order to make room for the bridge. However, there need to be grooves placed carefully as well in order to deal with the twisting forces. Most of them end up with a short life span as a result (the bridge’s not the dentists).
You have an added complication of needing to bond your Maryland bridge onto porcelain instead of natural tooth structure. The bond is strongest when affixed to natural tooth structure. Bonding it to porcelain will not have as strong of a bond.
Ideally, your dentist would have planned ahead for the possibility of you losing the tooth between the two dental implants. If so, he would have placed the abutments parallel and used screw attachments. That way if you lost the middle tooth it would be a simple matter of taking off the crowns and then placing a dental bridge in their place.
If that is not something your dentist prepared for, you can see if there is enough room for another single dental implant to be placed.
Hopefully, one of those solutions will work for you. You are certainly able to try a Maryland Bridge, but just go into it with your eyes wide open.
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